By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

EDINBURG — A family's missing piece may belong to the Humane Society of Shenandoah County.

Since Dec. 12, group member Mary Lynn Sallette has kept Freckles, a corgi and Jack Russell terrier mix, at her home outside of Front Royal. It was on that day that the 1-year-old dog underwent surgery to repair her left hip, which had sustained significant trauma from what Sallette thinks was a car.

Freckles spent several weeks at the Shenandoah County Animal Shelter before the surgery, which included her being spayed. The circumstances behind her getting to the facility are unknown.

"This was somebody's dog," Sallette said. "She's really a nice dog. We're hoping to find her a good home. She'd be a great second dog, a family dog. She likes cats. She's really smart."

The Humane Society tackles major projects such as Freckles about three times a year, dipping into what it calls its Deputy Dawg Fund, named after a canine that was shot several years ago. The fund has about $2,500. Sallette said Freckles' surgery cost $1,500, and that was only because of a discount with a doctor in Middleburg. The final medical costs will likely approach $2,000, she said.

For the basic animal lover, the fund is important because it saves the lives of animals, such as Freckles, who suffer major injuries, Sallette said. The society's general fund, which totals around $13,000, also assists residents when possible, but some requests must be turned down.

The society is currently seeking funds from the community. The Deputy Dawg Fund will soon take a big hit as 15 feral dogs are to be removed from someone's property, Sallette said.

An animal such as Freckles brings the issue of funding to the public's eye. If not for the surgery, Freckles, who is still at least a month away from full recovery, would likely not have been adopted, Sallette said.

And without having the surgery soon enough, the dog likely would have never fully recovered, she said. The county shelter is not allowed to treat an injured dog that is brought in, society co-president Ginger Taylor said.

Differentiating between the shelter and society is enough of a task, let alone having sufficient funds, she said.

"So many people think the humane society is a shelter," Taylor said. "We are our own group. We don't have a building."

But Freckles is on track to healthy days because of efforts from both. Shelter officials are promoting her because she is a nice dog, Sallette said. Her left ear is torn — another sign that leads Sallette to believe she was hit by a car — but otherwise a bum hip is all that limits her, and that's temporary.

For that reason, it could be a merry Christmas for Freckles and a family in need of a dog, Sallette said.

"There's a lot of Freckles at the shelters," she said.

For more information, contact Sallette at 635-6040. Anyone who wishes to donate to the society can send money to the Humane Society of Shenandoah County at P.O. Box 173, Woodstock VA 22664.

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com